Berlin's “Famous” Wunder-Bar

In his autobiography, Julio De Caro included a photograph of the orchestra of Vicente “Kalisay” Gorrese, taken 1931 in Berlin in front of, as the caption indicates, the “famous” Wunder-Bar.

The”famous” Wunder-Bar in Berlin? Never heard of it! Did I miss something?

Members of the orquesta típica Gorrese, with singer Francisco Fiorentino (third from the right), in front of Hoffmann's "Wunder Bar" in Berlin, 1931

While there existed a “Wunder-Bar” in Berlin, it was not a place that reached any particular kind of fame. Famous instead (especially in Buenos Aires), was something else from which the bar in Berlin derived its name: the musical drama “Die Wunder-Bar. Ein Spiel im Nachtleben” by Geza Herczeg and Karl Farkas. De Caro apparently thought that the bar shown in the photograph was the model for the theater play.

The “Wunder-Bar” play was premiered in Vienna in 1930. It quickly became an international success. In 1933, the brothers Armando and Enrique Santos Discépolo (author and composer of such tangos as Esta noche me emborracho, Yira, yira, Cafetín de Buenos Aires, etc.) acquired the rights and produced the play in Buenos Aires. Armando Discépolo directed the play, Enrique Santos performed the leading role of Harry Wunder and composed two tangos (Sin palabras, Tres esperanzas), that were  added to the play and sung by his wife Tania. The play turned out to be great success in Buenos Aires (hence, the “famous” Wunder-Bar). A second production, again with Enrique Santos Discépolo playing the main role, was launched in 1947.

Enrique Santos Discépolo as Harry Wunder in Wunder-Bar